Offbeat things to do in Vegas? You betcha

LAS VEGAS — For those whose interests extend beyond the norm (or whatever passes for the norm in this town), Las Vegas boasts a number of oddball activities that lure guests away from the slot machines, showgirls, steaks and sales.

On weekend mornings, guests at the Mirage Hotel and Casino (mirage.com) can recalibrate their minds and bodies at Yoga With the Dolphins, hosted in a windowed room adjacent to the massive tank that houses the aquatic mammals. The porpoises poke their snouts up to the glass and puzzle at the strange humans doing their strange stretches. "People come because they're looking to withdraw from overstimulation," said instructor Willow Withy. "And some people are looking for something active after the giant buffets."

Plastered on billboards and buses around town are ads reading "Shoot a real machine gun!" And even amid a raging national gun-control debate, that's exactly what tourists do at The Gun Store (thegunstorelasvegas.com), a range that offers a spectrum of weapons to a spectrum of shooters.

A new wedding chapel within the range enables patrons to tie the knot between blasting rounds.

Vegas visitors can strap into the zip line that buzzes over Fremont Street (vegasexperience.com), dip into the shark pool at the Golden Nugget (goldennugget.com) and play in the trampoline rooms at Skymania (skymaniafuncenters.com), which sounds like a terrible idea after a night out.

Back at the Mirage there is King Ink, a tattoo parlor/tavern that invites guests to make simultaneous rash decisions while on vacation. "People are feeling crazy in Las Vegas, and they figure if not now, they'll never get a tattoo," explained Angelo Taccetta, general manager of King Ink, who regularly fields requests to get the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada" billboard tattooed on out-of-towner bodies.